Israeli firm Essence Group, a developer of IoT-based security, safety and healthcare cloud services, has joined Qualcomm’s smart cities accelerator programme to help protect workers, buildings and assets.

As part of the Qualcomm Advantage Network, the accelerator programme is designed to connect cities, municipalities, government agencies and enterprises with an ecosystem of providers to help deliver efficiencies, safety, cost savings and sustainability. With expertise in commercially deployed technology, programme members include hardware and software providers, cloud providers, system integrators, design and manufacturing companies, as well as those offering end-to-end smart city services.

“The Qualcomm smart cities accelerator programme is a central hub for smart cities providers utilising our cutting-edge technologies, and we are excited to collaborate with Essence as they work to enhance enterprise security and employee safety in university campuses, transportation, construction, smart-stadiums and a host of other industries,” said Sanjeet Pandit, senior director at Qualcomm.

Yaniv Amir, president of Essence Group in North America, added: “At Essence Group, our mission is to enhance safety and security to provide peace of mind for our residential, small business and enterprise customers. We are thrilled to bring the Essence Umbrella mPers, MyShield and future products to the Qualcomm Advantage Network services portfolio. Essence has over 27 years of experience in the residential and small business security space as a leading developer of security and safety technologies protecting our customers’ most valuable assets.”

The Essence enterprise portfolio comprises an AI-based IoT end-to-end offering that enhances existing enterprise environments with a suite of integrated cloud-platforms to ensure safety of workers, buildings and assets. The complete Essence protection suite allows users to deter, prevent or quickly address incidents in real time.

Essence uses analytics to provide enterprise security with various video and personal safety tools, products and real-time alerts regarding potential on-campus incidents that could result in serious injuries and loss of property. The full suite represents a step in propelling smart-enterprise campus safety from a reactive to a proactive real-time approach.

The Umbrella wearable personal safety panic devices, winner of the Twice Picks award for innovation at CES 2022, uses the 5G Cat-M networks. It provides immediate incident notification and protection, including fall detection, and is suitable for VIPs, transportation workers, construction or other lone workers, students and teachers, on and off campus. With the press of a button, the device uses two-way voice technology to connect with security monitoring services or friends and family to dispatch emergency personnel for immediate assistance.

It includes GPS and wifi to give dispatch operators the ability to locate the device both indoors and outdoors on demand. The device’s small and discrete form factor means it can be used for senior care, lone workers, child safety and others.

MyShield, a CES 2022 Innovation Award Honoree, is a cloud-based intruder prevention and intervention platform that is connected to 5G Cat-M networks and can be integrated into any existing security system and monitoring centre. It uses a proprietary smoke diffuser to prevent intrusion by forcing intruders out of premises before they can cause any harm to people, property or assets. The integrated, easy-to-install system includes a passive infra-red (PIR) motion detector, a high-definition video camera with recording capabilities for video verification, and two-way voice communication.

“We are excited to collaborate with Essence to deliver smart enterprise solutions to keep our customers’ personnel and assets safe,” said Pandit, “Prioritising enterprise safety and especially that of our workers will continue to accelerate the transformation of our cities and help enrich communities’ lives. Qualcomm and Essence share a dedication to being technology and safety leaders in their respective fields.”

Essence Group has more than 75 million connected devices deployed worldwide.